Review of The Naughty Nineties

In the 1890s, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello (as Dexter Broadhurst and Sebastian Dinwiddle) are entertainers on a Mississippi River showboat. The captain of "The River Queen" Henry Travers (as Sam Jackson) loses a percentage of his ownership to some unscrupulous gamblers. So, Abbott and Costello lend him their comic hands. Considering the money they were making for Universal, this is a surprisingly slipshod production for the comedy duo. It consists of haphazard routines, tossed in with an irrelevant plot and an ending chase scene. Marx Brothers bits, and even Buster Keaton's "House Falling" scene, are tossed into the mix. The deservedly famous "Who's on First?" stand-up is cheaply dressed; this is not, as touted, their best version of the routine. But, the "Cat Eating" is very well done; helping make the total package medium, if not rare.

***** The Naughty Nineties (6/20/45) Jean Yarbrough ~ Lou Costello, Bud Abbott, Alan Curtis, Rita Johnson